Tuesday, October 12, 2010

You Are What You Eat

The topic of diet has been coming up a lot lately, and the connection between what we eat affecting how we feel. As you all have gathered by now I embrace a holistic approach to wellness. Holistic as defined by Merriam-Webster Dictionary is "relating to or concerned with wholes or with complete systems rather than with the analysis of, treatment of, or dissection into parts". I view my body as a complete entity, with each symptom, pain or issue connected to the others. There is no question in my mind that processed, preservative filled, altered, fake and high fat and calorie foods make me feel bad. My symptoms will flare after a few meals out and let's not even talk about fast-food...road trips are much less fun when the restaurant tour includes salads instead of french fries! It has taken me many years and much trial and error but I have found an eating theory that works for me: If God made it, I will eat it. If man altered it, I try to limit it. Or at least indulge for emotional reasons, not practical ones, for crying out loud! When I open my full refrigerator there is never anything "to eat" unless I have already taken the nutritious, raw ingredients and crafted a dish. Or I want some cottage cheese or a hard boiled egg. It is extremely labor intensive and frequently annoying, always having to plan ahead, but it is something so fundamental to the management of my Fibromyalgia I have finally accepted that a big part of how I consider myself "managed" is because of my diet.

When I was at my sickest and disabled, having lost the use of my right arm and hand and unable to cook, dinner (along with everything else) fell to my husband. I was just a heap of emotional chaos slumped over on the couch, moaning and whining and complaining incessantly. After working his 10 hour days and then hitting the gym his version of dinner consisted of take-out. Burgers one night, burritos the next...and the pounds started packing on both of us. It did not take me long to figure out this system was not working, so we joined Nutri-System. Healthy as far as no preservatives it is NOT but it offered ease and calorie control and we kept at it until looking at one more package of freeze dried hamburger made me want to hurl the reconstituted scrambled eggs I had for breakfast all over the room. I researched nutrition extensively, constantly hearing how this person had recovered from Fibromyalgia on a gluten-free diet or gave up wheat and got better, how for that person it was bananas that were making them sick, or milk or corn. I tried it all. I never was "food allergy" tested but eliminated enough things from my diet for significant amounts of time that I knew the answer was not that simple for me.

When I became ill with CFS and Fibromyalgia an intense journey of self-discovery unfolded before me. I became disillusioned with modern medicine and the limitations it placed on its mastery of the absolute. How can something still evolving, still discovering, hell, something called the "practice" of medicine be so pompous as to discredit what it cannot yet prove? So I opened myself up to alternative methods as a means of survival and adopted a more holistic approach to living. I also came to believe in some pretty radical and off-the-wall truths that exist between man and nature. Our technology has grown so much quicker than we have biologically evolved and we are at the time and place in history where they could not be more at odds. American's have higher rates of obesity while consuming less fat. All these fat-free, sugar-free, calorie-free foods scare me, and I grew up on them! Exactly what are you eating if there is nothing in there? CHEMICALS! Chemicals that sit in your body forever, your organs at a loss as to what to do with them, no way to process them or get rid of them, and toxicity builds and builds until illness is born. So if you ask me what I eat it is simple. I eat a lot of vegetables, whole grains, lean protein and dairy, good fats and limited amounts of real sugar. I am in no way professing to be perfect, it would be a little scary if I was. Yes it is a complete pain in the wazoo, but if you start slow by adding more veggies into your diet and cutting out the processed and fast-food you may discover you feel a bit better, less stiff, less inflamed and more energized, too.

Thanks for joining,
Leah

8 comments:

  1. Awesome. Exactly what's been on my mind so much this past year :)

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  2. Have you heard of The Paleo Solution by Robb Wolf? I have been eating this way for three weeks (they say you will see benifits in 30 days) and although my pain is still with me I do have more energy and the Fibro Fog has lifted a bit so I have hope! I also feel much less depressed which as of late has been horrible.

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  3. I agree with your insight! I plan to change my foods when I come back from vacation....well, maybe....
    It's a mulberry morning1

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  4. What happend to my post....I spent 30 mins writing it and now it's gone. The same thing happened yesterday.

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  5. Leah, your blog is like nothing else I've come across in the Fibromyalgia world. I've read all your blogs and although they are your experiences, they speak for all of us. I don't know if you plan to write a book, but count me in as one of the first people in line to buy it. Soft hugs and please continue to inspire all of us with your beautiful words.

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  6. Marsha, try previewing your comment before you post it. You have to enter the word which appears in the box before you can post. Hope this helps.

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  7. Oh no Marsha, we want your comments! Try the suggestion above. I have no advice for you because it is completely different for me but just to be safe right click "copy" what you wrote before you "post comment" so if it goes away you can just "paste" it right back in again! That has happened to me too many times with my blog (sometimes they take me all day) and I am surprised a computer has not gone out the window by now!

    I do plan on writing a book and thank you very much for your kind words of encouragement, Anonymous ;) You all will be the first to know!

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  8. I have had Fibromyalgia since 1987 and was diagnosed in 1994. I have been through alot and diet does effect my FMS. One thing we all know is that finances are always affected and at times are devastated. I save money by making roasts that are made into soups and stews. Just alter your vegies etc to make things constantly changing. When I am having a good day I might make some muffins etc. We enjoy cooking from scratch. On bad days I can pull out leftovers out of the freezer for an easy meal.

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